Macquarie Wins HPN Privatization Bid

While an operator was selected in the billion-dollar deal to privatize New York City-area corporate aviation hub Westchester County Airport, it still requires the approval of a lame-duck board of legislators, with some urging a delay on the vote, until the new board can review the terms.

Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation, the parent company of FBO chain Atlantic Aviation, was chosen to operate New York-area business aviation hub Westchester County Airport in an announcement yesterday by recently defeated county executive Rob Astorino (R). In April, the county issued an RFP for the 40-year contract, after Astorino’s failed attempt last year to award the contract without contest to Oaktree Capital Management, which runs Puerto Rico’s San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport.

The deal requires approval of at least 12 of the 17 county legislators, but lawmakers will be in a race to bring the matter to vote before January, when a new county administration takes office. The Democratic chairman of the county's board of legislators indicated that any decision on the airport deal should be delayed until it can be considered by the incoming lawmakers.

The Westchester County board flipped from Republican to Democrat in the recent elections, along with the county executive. If a successful vote is not concluded by the end of year, the privatization effort could face new scrutiny. If the billion-dollar deal is approved, it would make HPN the only a﻿irport under the FAA Public Private Partnership (P3) program in the mainland U.S.